Kenny Dalglish joins Liverpool in 1977: Five reasons why he became a legend

Published on: 10 August 2017

Professor Thomas Curran and a host of Liverpool sporting personalities reveal what's behind the city's passion for sport.

It is 40 years to the day since Kenny Dalglish joined Liverpool from Celtic. In that time, the Scot has cemented his legacy as one of Liverpool's greatest ever players and is regarded as a custodian for the Merseyside club after two spells as manager and now as a non-executive director.

ESPN FC looks at five reasons why he's a legend at Anfield.

He joined for a British record fee

Dalglish joined Liverpool from Celtic in the summer of 1977, with manager Bob Paisley splashing out what was then a hefty £440,000. Celtic manager, Jock Stein, said at the time: "If Kenny had wanted to stay at Celtic Park I would have turned down any amount of money offered for him. Now where do I find another player like Dalglish?"

The foundations of the move, however, were laid by Bill Shankly, who took Dalglish on trial as a 15-year-old back in 1966. Dalglish, though, felt it was best to stay put in Glasgow as a teenager.

When he did move to Anfield permanently, Dalglish had the difficult task of replacing the world-class Kevin Keegan after his departure to Hamburg. Keegan would go on to win the Ballon d'Or at Hamburg in 1978 and 1979, but Liverpool quickly moved on thanks to Dalglish's start to his Reds career. The forward took Keegan's No. 7 shirt and quickly showed he was a more-than adequate replacement, scoring seven minutes into his league debut.

His winner in the 1978 European Cup final

Dalglish capped off his impressive first season at Anfield in the best way possible -- scoring the only goal in the 1978 European Cup final against Club Brugge.

In a tense game, the two teams were only separated by a deft bit of brilliance from Dalglish in the second half at Wembley. Chances were few and far between, but when Dalglish was played through inside the penalty area, he spotted goalkeeper Birger Jensen rushing towards him and then delicately lifted the ball into the net.

"Winning the European Cup has always been my ambition," Dalglish was quoted at the time. "This is the greatest night of my life in club football."

In his match report, Chris James of the Daily Mirror said the goal "paid back a massive portion of the £440,000 paid to Celtic for him last August."

His strike vs. Chelsea to win Liverpool the league in 1986

Dalglish took charge of Liverpool in a player-manager role at the start of the 1985-86 season and guided the club to the double in his first season in the hot seat. After a testing start, Dalglish took control as a player for the run-in and Liverpool went on to win 11 out of their last 12 league matches.

They secured the crown at Stamford Bridge after a tense 1-0 win over Chelsea. Again, Dalglish's brilliance won Liverpool another honour. In the 23rd minute, the No. 7 chested down Jim Beglin's pass and volleyed the winner off the outside of his right foot.

"Ah, it could easily have gone in the enclosure," said the modest Dalglish, attempting to play down his goal and part in the championship. "Everyone else did more."

Kenny Daglish is one of Liverpool's greatest ever players.

He won the League Cup as manager in 2012

Liverpool were floundering in 12th place in the Premier League when Dalglish got the call to replace Roy Hodgson in January 2011. He returned to Liverpool as manager after leaving his post in 1991, initially being placed in charge temporarily to steady the ship. However, Dalglish impressed owners Fenway Sports Group enough to land the role permanently.

In his second spell as boss, Dalglish won the League Cup in 2012 by beating Cardiff City on penalties at Wembley. It remains the only major trophy the Merseyside club have won in the past 11 seasons.

"Does actually getting your hands on a trophy inspire you? I hope so," Dalglish said afterwards. "I think anyone who has ever won a trophy, whether it's at Wembley or wherever, has come away and said: 'I enjoyed that, I'd love to do it again'.

Liverpool returned to Wembley later that season, but were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in the FA Cup final. Ultimately, Liverpool's eighth-placed finish in the Premier League cost Dalglish his job.

He continues to be Liverpool through and through

Referred to as "King Kenny" among Liverpool supporters, Dalglish is extremely highly regarded on Merseyside for his work on the pitch, but it's his contributions off it where he maintains his place on the throne.

Last season saw Dalglish watch a match from the place where he is adored -- he spent the first half of the draw with Bournemouth in April watching from the Kop.

"It was just something I wanted to do -- and now I've done it. It was the first time I watched a game from there," he said. "It was fantastic to watch it from there and the people were fantastic as well."

More significantly, Dalglish provided support and leadership in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster -- where 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives at an FA Cup semifinal in 1989. He ensured that club were represented at all 96 funerals of the victims. "I don't know how many funerals I went to. Marina [his wife] and I attended four in one day," he wrote in his autobiography.

Glenn is ESPN FC's Liverpool correspondent. You can follow him on Twitter: @GlennPrice94.

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Source: espn.co.uk

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